Lockhart can no longer be called brave.
He is engaging in a campaign of verbal provocation, relentlessly exposing the wounds of others, and then accelerating his own death.
In short, it's courting death.
Snape had probably never suffered such humiliation and provocation in his life.
Anger made his cheekbones bulge, and his upper and lower rows of teeth seemed to be tearing and grinding together, making a crunching sound.
Even from a great distance, Silan could clearly see Snape's hair trembling along with his shaking shoulders.
His eyes were even more frightening, staring coldly and mercilessly at Lockhart as if he were looking at a corpse.
Harry and Ron both shuddered when they saw the look in Snape's eyes.
They had never seen Snape like this before.
This was even more terrifying than the last time they were caught by him while tracking Silan and Hermione.
It's absolutely terrifying.
"I bet Lockhart's in for a lot of trouble."
Ron tilted his head and whispered to Harry, "Snape might just splatter his brains out."
"Stop talking, Ron, I feel a little nauseous."
Despite saying this, Harry still looked at Snape and Lockhart.
In Harry's view, the two of them were already practically fighting.
The difference is that Snape launched a physical attack on Lockhart, while Lockhart launched a mental attack on Snape.
If he were to say it, it would be very insightful.
He was happy no matter which of the two men lost out.
The only thing that puzzled him was why Snape, as the head of Slytherin House that championed Pure-blood, would be angry about the word "Mudblood."
In his memory, Slytherin loved to use this word to insult people.
But thinking about it carefully, Snape doesn't seem to have uttered a single word.
Even when he was very angry or scolded fiercely during class, he never uttered that word.
Seeing Snape's angry expression, Lockhart raised an eyebrow and said with a grin, "What, did my words offend you?"
He was met with Snape's Spells.
"Diffindo!"
If it weren't for the presence of so many people, Snape would have already cast the Killing Curse on him.
Lockhart waved his wand and cast a Shield Charm, barely managing to block Snape's Spells.
Although he looked somewhat disheveled, Lockhart still held his head high and swaggered around.
"Have you witnessed it? This is the power of the King of the World!"
You can't hurt me!
They can ignore such a huge gap in strength, and even have the leisure to deceive themselves.
It seems Lockhart has truly gone mad.
They've completely lost all sense of proportion and are determined to court disaster.
When the two professors suddenly started fighting, the surrounding students gathered together to watch the spectacle.
"I think Professor Lockhart wants revenge for the friendly match," a young wizard said, stroking his chin.
"Revenge?"
A Slytherin student sneered, "Wait till our Headmaster smashes his brains out, then let's see how he gets revenge!"
Malfoy peered into the High Table from the crowd.
Lockhart really doesn't learn his lesson. He lost the last friendly match, hasn't he realized the difference in skill between himself and our Dean?
"Goyle, I bet Lockhart's going to get knocked down any second now," Malfoy said instinctively.
After waiting a while, when the familiar response didn't come, Malfoy turned his head and glanced around.
He then remembered that Goyle and Crabbe had been petrified and were still in the hospital.
This left him feeling somewhat bored.
Snape was clearly fed up with Lockhart's incessant chatter; with a flick of his wand, three Spells were fired in quick succession.
"Expelliarmus!"
"Stupefy!"
"Oppugno!"
This time he showed no mercy, chanting the incantation at an unprecedented speed.
They clearly used all their strength.
Lockhart hurriedly blocked the first two Spells, but then he couldn't keep up with Snape's pace.
Snape's "Oppugno" summoned countless small stones that were continuously hurled at Lockhart.
"Damn it! How dare you!"
"How dare you harm the greatest king of the world!" Lockhart roared in fury. "You will pay for this!"
As a result, a stone Accio and hit him hard in the mouth, rendering him speechless.
The remaining stones quickly followed, smashing him until his face was bruised and swollen, almost turning him into a pig's head.
Lockhart rolled off the table, screaming horribly as he covered his face with his hands.
"Don't, don't hit my face!"
But Snape clearly wasn't going to give him that courtesy, and the little stones he summoned were aimed directly at his face.
"Bastard! Damn bastard!"
"I am the world... Ah!"
In the blink of an eye, Lockhart was stunned by the stone hitting his head and lay on the ground groaning and howling.
Snape flicked his wand, then withdrew his gaze from the lump of Lockhart with disgust, as if he had seen something filthy.
"Alright, two men, take our 'King of the World' to the Hospital Wing and get his head checked," Snape said.
Although Lockhart had gone mad for some unknown reason, he was still a professor at Hogwarts.
We can't just leave it here.
Upon hearing Snape's words, a burst of laughter erupted from the crowd, with many people even chuckling and jeering.
"Rise up, the greatest wizard!"
"Our world's king Gilderoy Lockhart!"
"Is this all the King of the World is? You're not good enough either!"
The Slytherin House students all looked at Snape with reverence.
Powerful and elegant, that's the Slytherin.
Ron looked at Lockhart, who was sprawled on the ground, and shook his head with some regret.
"I even felt he was better than when he was teaching us, but now it seems like that was just my imagination."
"It must be your imagination."
Harry looked at Snape, who was completely unharmed, and felt a pang of regret.
Snape didn't look hurt at all.
That Lockhart is really useless.
Snape was unharmed, while he himself was reduced to a dead dog.
After the excitement was over, the students prepared to leave.
Silan frowned, staring intently at Lockhart on the ground, a sense of unease creeping into her heart.
Lockhart charged in with such fanfare, and then this?
That's it?
This feeling of emptiness inside made Silan feel somewhat uneasy.
Moreover, the Basilisk has not yet appeared.
The surrounding students laughed loudly, discussing the fleeting battle and Lockhart's reckless provocation.
All eyes were on Snape; no one looked at Lockhart anymore.
Since the last friendly match, many people have realized Lockhart's incompetent nature and look down on him.
Now he lay on the ground panting like a dead dog, and naturally no one paid any attention to him.
Except for Silan.
Silan kept her eyes fixed on Lockhart, not daring to relax for a moment.
He saw Lockhart howl on the ground for a while, then suddenly stop.
Its head, which had been pressed against the ground, was raised high.
Despite his bruised and swollen face, looking utterly disheveled, his demeanor and temperament suddenly transformed, becoming completely different.
What's most startling is his eyes.
For a fleeting moment, a crimson light seemed to flicker.
The students followed the flow of people out of the Great Hall, and Lockhart's spot quickly became empty.
The two of them gazed at each other from a distance, separated by gaps in the crowd.
Time seemed to stand still for a moment.
At that moment, the crowd fell silent, and all sound ceased.
But Silan heard his own heart pounding like a heavy drum.
Time flows on again.
Everything returned to normal.
The eyes disappeared from the gaps in the crowd, and Lockhart waved his wand.
Silan shouted at Snape, "Professor Snape, watch your back!"
... Divider Line...
My friends are too kind to me.
With 178,000 reads, it seems to be temporarily the number one HP fanfiction on the entire platform. Just making a note of it.